The young children of Labour MP Jo Cox came to the House of Commons to hear emotional tributes to their mother.

And there were poignant scenes as Parliament was recalled to pay its respects four days after her death in a street attack in her West Yorkshire constituency.

Three-year-old daughter Lejla sat on her father Brendan’s lap, while son Cuillin, five, snuggled up to his grandmother in the gallery overlooking the chamber of the Commons.

The parents of Jo Cox, Jean and Gordon Leadbeater look at the flowers laid in memory of their daughter in Parliament Square (Image: Lauren Hurley/PA Wire)

They heard Prime Minister David Cameron praise their mother as “a voice of compassion whose irrepressible spirit and boundless energy lit up the lives of all who knew her”, while Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said that, with her death, British society had lost “one of our very best”.

Following the tributes, Mr Cox tweeted: “Thank you to the whole House and staff for your kindness and compassion to our family today and for describing so well the Jo we love #MoreInCommon”.

MPs wore white roses in memory of Yorkshire-born Mrs Cox, and a single white rose was placed on the green leather bench where she usually sat, alongside a red rose for the Labour Party.

Party leaders David Cameron and Jeremy Corbyn along with leader of the House of Lords Baroness Stowell of Beeston lead a procession from Parliament to St Margarets church for a memorial service for MP Jo Cox

Also in the gallery were Mrs Cox’s parents Jean and Gordon and her sister Kim, who wiped away a tear and smiled as fellow Yorkshire MP Holly Lynch fondly recalled how her friend had quickly made her name in the Commons as an MP who was not easy to be whipped.

With them were Mrs Cox’s close friend - and the best woman at her wedding - TV producer Sarah Hamilton, Brendan’s best man Will Paxton, and Mr Cox’s parents and sister.

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MPs took the unusual step of rising to give Mrs Cox a standing ovation as the hour-long tribute drew to an end. After the House was adjourned, MPs processed across the road to St Margaret’s - often referred to as the House of Commons’ parish church - for a service of prayer and remembrance in Mrs Cox’s memory.

Huddersfield MP Barry Sheerman talked of the “energetic, brilliant young woman” and added: “How wonderful it was to have that energy, passion and conviction to work with.”

He also said: “We have a duty of care to Jo’s family into the future.”